Ah, great news! This city's been missing a good Mexican; has the gap finally been filled?! Where is Wanda Plaza?

Wanda plaza is where I work.

Between East 3rd and East 4th ring road.

Specifically in the space

EAST of 3rd Ring
SOUTH of Guanghua road (if you know Hatsune, it's there)
NORTH of Jianguo Road where Soho New Town (NOT jianwai soho) is
WEST of Dawang Lu (Blue Castle, Goldfield International, Sunshine 100)

Been eating there for the past week or two

Service was terrible at first but finally have got their sh*t together.

GO! while it's still cheap.

Tell 'em you heard about it on thatsbj.com!

Does anyone know the address of El fogoncito? I have tried to google for it, but I guess it most be a newly opened one.

yes. but follow the directions above and it should be no problemo finding it

Went there, and it was great! Their rolled crispy taco was really yummy! Half-price too for a limited time!

Decor was nice and modern too, a big departure from the cheesy style Mexican restaurant places...

How odd about the Mexican staff not being there. We met the chef and two others last night when the came to our table, and all the others, for a chat. Really friendly people, eager to meet people and swap stories! Perhaps they are off Sundays? Perhaps try it another night?

Margaritas were a little hit and miss last night too. The first were mostly tequila (we didn't complain!), but the second round was lovely.

I agree with you on the chips and salsa. That would have been a nice touch.

I really don't think that there is anything comparable in Beijing at the moment. Certainly not the Mexican Kitchen in Pinnacle Plaza, which is good but is definately a Tex Mex place, and the tortillas there are flour. Plus, they only come 4 or 5 at a time so you always have to order 10 kuai more to finish your meal.

And I do think, perhaps, your tastes have been spoiled just a tad by your experiences in San Francisco.

I went to eat there last night and ended up doing a little sightseeing in the taxi before I finally gave up. Your directions could have been sufficient and my chinese skills and knowledge of the area poor, but can you please write down the address this time? I see there has come some more information since about how to get there, but I want to be sure to arrive there next time.

Thanks for this very interesting perspective meguminosa!

I don't suppose you know if they have mole on the menu? I've only ever eaten it once, and it was to die for!

Sorry Gracie, I don't remember seeing mole on the menu when I was there nor anything else close to being that elaborate. Additionally, I was not as impressed as some of the other posters to this thread, so don't set your expectations too high. Not horrible by Mexican food in Beijing standards, but compared to both Mexico and U.S. standards, I would definitely not go back for a second try. The one area that I agree with is that the staff (especially the non-Chinese) were very, very nice and accommodating, especially to the Spanish speakers.

Provecho!

As someone already said, no, they don't have mole... they don't sell it in the Fogoncito restaurants here, so I wouldn't expect to find it in China.

I was really amazed that you have tried it. Where did you taste it?

not having had the benefit of having anything but what we in the US call "mexican food" , I'd like to know what the major differences are between what you find in the US in Mexican restaurants and the "real thing" ...

(not talking taco bell here but rather a sit-down taqueria or fancier spot)

Hi all. This is my first post here, and it took this thread (which reveals both the best and the worst of this board -- I’ll explain in a minute why I say that) to bring me out of the shadows.

First, some context: I’m an American from New York but lived in Mexico City for two years just before moving to Beijing a few months ago. I was always a fan of what I thought was Mexican food in the States, but didn’t realize what I was missing until I lived in DF (Mexico City). I found that Mexican food in Mexico is not fajitas, chips and salsa, chimichangas and stuff like that. Nor are burritos common. There’s nothing wrong with any of that – it’s just not really Mexican. You can find it here, by the way, at places like Peter’s Tex Mex (BTW he opened a new branch in Lido area, a few doors down from Jenny Lou’s). DF has restaurants so good and so creative that they give Paris and New York a run for their money. For the most part, good food there (outside of the beach resorts) in almost no way resembles the Mexican phone found in the States. But that’s another story.

Anyway, tacos al pastor, which to Mexicans are as common and as beloved as, say, dumplings are to the Chinese, are what I miss most about Mexico. It’s often street food, although many restaurants also feature them. I was going through some serious withdrawal, and that’s why I was so excited to read about El Fogoncito on this board. (As meguminosa said, El Fogoncito is a Mexican franchise chain. It’s not quite as good as El Farolito, a competing chain, but I won’t be that picky in Beijing!)

So it’s a big plus that this board exists, and that people care enough to share great and useful news like this. On the flip side, it was really frustrating the first two weeks or so when none of the posters thought to include an address or phone number (c’mon, Wanda Plaza is not yet quite as well known as Tiananmen, but not knowing that, I tried to get there only to give up after being driven around in circles). Thanks to alidesign for thoughtfully including an actual address and number. Now I’ve gone there twice in the last week, and came out pretty well satisfied.

The key for thsese tacos is the meat, and the marinade for it, grilled on the spit and combined with the small, soft freshly made corn tortillas and topped with fresh cilantro, onion, pineapple, and with fresh green and red salsas and fresh limes for toppings. When everything’s fresh it’s a cheap and delicious snack.

Except for the lack of fresh limes, Fogoncito serves up some tasty stuff that transported back to Mexico for a little while. Based on what I did, here’s my recommendation: start with a glass of good tequila (this is the first place in Beijing where I’ve seen Herradura reposado – it’s for sipping, not shooting!), then order a plate of three tacos al pastor. Try all three salsas on it at once. When you finish that first plate, order another, and try a margarita with it (we had several margaritas over the course of two meals. They were a bit different each time, but after the 3rd we didn’t care), then get another plate after that if you’re still hungry. You can’t go wrong. Your taste buds will thank you.

Finally, they don’t tell you this for some reason (maybe they just like surprising you when it’s time to present the bill), but all food is half price through the end of February, meaning that a plate of three pastor tacos is 7.5 rmb, instead of 15, which at normal price is still a pretty good deal.

Finally finally, Wanda Plaza looks like it’s about 60% completed and the area could be lively when everything’s done. The cinema there was showing Casino Royale, so before tacos one night we also attended our first actual movie in a movie theatre since arriving in Beijing!

I went there tonight after seeing it listed as That's Restaurant of the Week.

It was so good! The prices were really low, and the service was quick. We were there early, so that may have had something to do with it. Our favorite was the chicken domadas (sp?) They were on the first page, about halfway down the menu.
We also tried the chalupas, pastor tacos, and chicken & onion taco.
2 thumbs up!

had an excellent meal at fongoncito the first time a while back. recently, disaster, spolied meat, etc. 2 of 5 from our party got sick, stomach problems and all that comes with it. i even voted for this place as one of the best, but now i;d withdraw that and vow never to return..